Poverty measurement

Measures of material deprivation, rather than low income, are particularly effective in identifying individuals at risk of multiple forms of deprivation, according to a paper from the LSE's Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion.

The paper critically examines a proposal for a 'consistent poverty' measure (put forward by researchers in Dublin) in which low income and material deprivation are given an equal weight.

A 'pioneering' new model has been launched to capture the different ways poverty hits a range of household types. The Demos think tank stresses that poverty is not just about income, but is a 'complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon' manifesting itself in a variety of ways.

The government has launched a consultation on proposals to alter the official measure of child poverty. It says it wants to look at developing a wider measurement than one based solely on income. Looking at relative income in isolation is 'misleading', it argues.

In addition to income and material deprivation, the consultation document suggests the following dimensions for inclusion in a new measure of child poverty:

Improvements have been proposed in the way material deprivation is measured in European Union countries. The changes are designed to aid the monitoring of social objectives at both national and EU levels.

Researchers have put forward a new material deprivation indicator for the whole EU population, and also a child-specific indicator (for those aged 1–15). Their work draws on data collected in the 2009 wave of EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions). 'Material deprivation' is based on the affordability of a selection of items (goods or services) considered to be necessary or desirable for people to have an 'acceptable' standard of living in the country where they live.

Gender is a prime factor in explaining why some people are at risk of poverty rather than others, according to new European study. The authors adopt a gender perspective on poverty – in terms of both income poverty and poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon.

Poverty in the USA has fallen by 12.5 percentage points over the past 40 years, according to a new paper – contrary to official government statistics showing a rise in the number of people in poverty. Researchers argue that a more accurate picture is given by looking at changes in consumption rather than income. They also advocate improved income measures that remove bias in official price indices. On the basis of these alternative measures, they conclude: 'We may not have won the war on poverty, but we are certainly winning'.

This paper, presented to the ASITIS Children of Conflict Conference on 26 March 2012, addresses the question of what has the Northern Ireland conflict got to do with the challenges we face in addressing the needs, rights and opportunities of our young people today, especially those who are out of work and detached from education and training.

In Poor Britain (1985) Joanna Mack and Stewart Lansley set out the ‘consensual’ approach to poverty pioneered in the 1983 Breadline Britain survey. They introduce the concept of ‘socially perceived necessities’ and distinguish between those who lack necessities from choice and those who can’t afford them. They define poverty as ‘an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities’. Poor Britain is now out of print but you can download this influential book by clicking on the links below. We have provided both the full book, 324 pages, as one PDF, and each chapter and appendices as separate PDFs for download.

It may be possible to track poverty by reference to data on income satisfaction, according to a researcher in Germany. He sets out the results of matching survey data against existing poverty measures, such as the European Commission's '60 per cent of median income' measure.

'Striking' consistency is found in the things that different groups of people perceive to be the 'necessities of life' in the UK today, according to a new study. The working paper – part of the Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK project – used focus groups to examine people's perceptions of poverty, social exclusion and living standards.

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PSE:UK is a major collaboration between the University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Glasgow and the University of York working with the National Centre for Social Research and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. ESRC Grant RES-060-25-0052.